Secondary Plus

UPPER INTERMEDIATE 1
PROJECT
Write the sto
ry of an
important p
ersonal
challenge.

REACH FOR
THE SKY!

AIMS
Look at the photos. Discuss the questions.
What do the people in the photos have
in common?
What challenges do we face in our
everyday lives?
What does it take to overcome a challenge?
I can understand people describing
personal challenges.
I can use narrative tenses to speak
about past challenges.
I can use adjectives for emotions.
I can discuss overcoming challenges.
  I can read and understand texts about the  I can research and describe a challenge a famous
challenges famous people have faced. person faced.

AGAINST THE ODDS

1. PREPARE TO READ 2. READ THE ESSAYS

Look at photos A, B and C and discuss Read the three essays and check your
the questions. answers to activity 1.
1. Do you recognise these people? If so,
what do you know about them?
2. What do you think they have in common?
3. READ AGAIN
Answer the questions.
1. What difficult situation did each
The flea person face?
2. What did each person achieve?

Many people think that Lionel Messi is the

greatest football player in the world, but not
many people know the story of his life and
the challenges he’s had to overcome.
Messi started playing football as a child
and at the age of six he joined his local
boys’ club in Rosario, Argentina. His talent
was obvious from the start. However, whe
he was 11, doctors found that he had a
condition that affected his growth. His
family needed to pay for expensive medical
treatment, but they couldn’t afford it.
Fortunately, Barcelona Football Club offered
Messi a contract and agreed to pay for his
medical treatment in Spain.
So he moved to Barcelona with his father
to start a new life. He wasn’t always sure he
could succeed but he had always wanted
to be a professional football player, so with
determination and the support of his fami
he was able to do more than conquer
health problems; he managed to become
one of the best footballers of all time.
A
Fly me to
the Moon!
Today, Richard Branson is a multi-millionaire
n businessman who has been called a genius.
It comes as a surprise to some people, then,
that Branson used to get into trouble at school
and struggled in class. The reason? Branson
had dyslexia, so he had difficulty reading and
writing and often failed tests.
Back then, very little was known
B
about dyslexia or how to teach
students with it.
Branson has said that his
difficulties led him to leave
school early. But he didn’t let his
ly, academic struggles become an
obstacle to success. He wanted
his
to be a businessman. When
Richard was 11, together with his childhood
friend, Nik Powell, he started breeding pet birds
and selling them to local children. That was just
the beginning of many business Branson was to
prove over and over that he could always cope
with problems and find solutions.
Many years later, Branson’s corporation Virgin
Group is worth over 7.2 billion dollars. It
includes Virgin Galactic, for people who want
to travel into space, and Virgin Oceanic, which
offers a submarine that can take tourists to the
deepest parts of the ocean floor.

2 © British Council | B2.1 02 | V1.0

  I can use words and expressions related to  I can use narrative tenses to talk about past
challenges. events.

4. EXPLORE VOCABULARY 6. LOOK AT LANGUAGE

Look at the words and expressions in
bold in the texts. Check their meaning
and put them into three categories:
nouns related to challenges, positive
verbs and negative verbs.
My Practice 1
5. TALK ABOUT IT
Answer these questions in small groups.
1. Which story was most interesting? Why?
2. Do you know any other famous people
who faced difficult situations in their lives?
How did they cope with the challenges?
Surf rider
Bethany Hamilton is a world-class surfer who
has won many competitions and prizes, but
ed
her career as a top-class surfer almost end
in 2003 when she was attacked by a 14-f oot
tiger shark in Kauai, Hawaii. One morning,
while Bethany was lying on her surfboard
with her left arm in the water, a tiger shark
just
suddenly attacked her and bit off her arm
below the shoulder.
Bethany was only 13 at the time, but surfing
was her passion and she wasn’t ready to
Look at the sentences from the essays.
Do they use the past simple, the past
perfect, the past continuous or used to?
1. He started playing football as a child.
2. He had always wanted to be a
professional football player.
3. He used to get into trouble.
4. While Bethany was lying on her surfboard,
a tiger shark suddenly bit off her arm.
My Practice 2
Read and complete the rules.
A. We use to describe completed
actions in the past.
B. We use to describe an action
which was interrupted by another action.
C. We use to talk about an action
that happened before another action.
D. We use to talk about past
habits or situations which don’t exist now.
7. PRACTISE
Complete this story with the most
appropriate form of the verbs in
brackets. Then discuss: who is the
story about?
Mr X is the founder of a very

?
k
quit. After a lot of hard work, she came bac successful company. Before
stronger than ever, getting top scores in a he started this company, he
number of competitions! 1. (start) another
h
Bethany has written an autobiography, whic business. It wasn’t a
also
has also been made into a film, and she’s success, but he didn’t give
started a foundation, Friends of Bethany, to
up. While he 2.
help young people deal with disabilities.
(study) at university, he had the
idea for the business that made
C him famous. In the early years,
he always 3. (work)
at weekends and never 4. (take)
holidays. Now, his software company is one
of the world’s biggest corporations.

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  I can understand and discuss growth and fixed  I can understand a discussion about everyday
mindsets. accomplishments.

8. PREPARE TO LISTEN
Read the information in the infographic. What are the main
differences between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset?

GROWTH FIXED
MINDSET MINDSET
I like challenges. I avoid challenges.
I never give up. I give up easily.
I can learn from failures. I don’t like failing.
I don’t let obstacles get Difficulties often get the
in my way. better of me.
I can. I can’t.
I like to try new things. I stick to what I know.

Exam skills Listening

1 9. L
 ISTEN TO THE LESSON Identifying the type of answer required

(PART 1) Before you listen, read the question carefully

and try to guess what type of information
Listen to the teacher introducing a lesson. you’ll need to listen for. Is it the main idea or
What is the lesson about? Why does the a specific detail? Is it a positive or a negative
teacher mention the famous people? choice? Is it a fact or an opinion?

2 10. LISTEN TO THE LESSON (PART 2)

Listen to the second part of the lesson. What challenge or problem does each person
mention? How did they show a growth mindset?

3 11. LISTEN AGAIN

Listen again to the whole lesson. Are the sentences true or false? Write T or F.
1. The teacher had a problem during 4. Samir likes maths now.
his lesson. 5. Lyra had been interested in
2. The teacher had never fixed a skateboarding for a long time.
problem computer before. 6. Lyra wanted to become a pilot.
3. Samir studied extra maths twice a week.

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  I can talk about a goal I achieved using narrative tenses.
12. DISCUSS
1. Look at the questions in the table.
Make notes for each question. Use the
photos to help you think of ideas.
2. Share your answers with a partner.
Make notes about your partner’s
answers.
3. Based on your and your partner’s
answers, do you think you have a
growth mindset? Why or why not?
Share your ideas with the class.
You
1. What was the last goal you
achieved or difficult thing
that you managed to do?
2. What difficulties did you
have?
3. How did you feel while
you were experiencing
the difficulties? Why?
4. How did you overcome
them?
5. How did you feel
afterwards? Why?
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Do you know?
? Albert Einstein found it very difficult
to find employment. It took him nine
years to get a job.
Exam skills Speaking
Expressing and justifying opinions
In Speaking exams, you may be asked to give
and justify your opinions. To prepare, learn
expressions for giving and justifying opinions,
and be prepared to give reasons for your ideas.
For example:
Giving opinions
As far as I’m concerned, …
To my mind, …
Justifying opinions
The reason I think this is …
This is (probably) because …
My Practice 3
Your partner
Project 1
Look at the texts on pages 2 and 3.
What kind of information does each
text include? What similarities are
there between each text? What
differences are there? 5
  I can use adjectives to describe emotions.  I can understand young people talking about
personal challenges.

LIVE AND LEARN!

1. EXPLORE VOCABULARY 1 4. WATCH AGAIN

Look at the adjectives for describing Make notes about the four speakers
emotions. Check the meaning and whose challenges you discussed in
pronunciation of any new words. Are the activity 2. Why did each speaker find their
adjectives positive or negative? challenge difficult? What did they learn
from it? Copy and complete the table.
anxious brave confident
excited proud disappointed Speaker Why it was What they
frustrated lonely miserable difficult learned
shocked upset embarrassed 1
2
My Practice 4 3
4

2. PREPARE TO WATCH
You’re going to watch a video with ten
teenagers talking about challenges
they’ve faced and what they’ve learned
from them. Before you watch, look at
the list of challenges. Discuss which you
think would be the hardest and why.
How would you deal with them?
A. starting at a new school
B. climbing a mountain
C. performing in a play
D. moving home

1 3. WATCH THE VIDEO 5. TALK ABOUT IT

Look again at activity 2. Put the
challenges in the order that you hear
them. Write 1–4.
Discuss the questions.
1. Think about the famous people you read
about on pages 2 and 3. How do the
people in the videos’ experiences compare
to the famous people’s experiences?
2. How did the people in the video show
growth mindsets?
3. Do you think young people today have
to deal with different experiences and
challenges from young people in the past?
Why?

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I can understand and use phrasal verbs to  
describe challenges.
6. LOOK AT LANGUAGE
Look at these sentence from the video
and observe the phrasal verbs in blue.
A. We all run up against problems and
it can be difficult to sort them out.
B. You don’t have to pretend to be happy
and just get on with it.
C. We talked to students to find out how
they’ve dealt with big challenges.
Now read the rules (1–3). Which phrasal
verbs in the example sentences are
separable (S) and which are inseparable
(I)? Write S or I.
1. With separable phrasal verbs, you can
put an object between the verb and
preposition or adverb.
2. With inseparable phrasal verbs, you can’t
put an object between the verb and
preposition or adverb. Three-word phrasal
verbs are usually inseparable.
3. If you aren’t sure if a phrasal verb is
separable, you can check in a dictionary.
Look at these sentences and compare
them to the example sentences (A–C).
Circle the correct option to complete
the rules.
We can sort out it.
They had challenges and they dealt with
them.
A. With separable phrasal verbs, we can /
can’t put a pronoun between the verb and
the preposition or adverb. We can / can’t
put a pronoun after the whole phrasal verb.
B. With inseparable phrasal verbs, we can /
can’t put a pronoun after the whole
phrasal verb.
My Practice 5
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I can talk about failure and dealing with
difficult situations.
Pronunciation
When a phrasal verb describes an action, we
stress the preposition or adverb(s), not the verb
or object. In three-word phrasal verbs, we usually
stress the first preposition or adverb.
Listen to these sentences. Then practise
4
saying them.
We all run up against problems.
How do you deal with big challenges?
My Practice 6
7. PRACTISE
Look at the phrasal verbs in bold in the
sentences below. Use a dictionary to
check the meaning of any new phrasal
verbs and whether they’re inseparable
or separable. Correct any mistakes with
word order in the sentences.
1. I think I’m pretty good at coping difficult
situations with.
2. After a failure, it’s important to just get on
with things.
3. I have a positive attitude to dealing
problems with.
4. He has a terrible injury. Do you think he
can come back it from?
5. We had a few disagreements, but we’ve
talked them through.
8. USE IT
Write five questions for your partner
with the phrasal verbs from activities
6 and 7. Then ask and answer the
questions in pairs.
7
  I can read and understand people’s opinions  I can analyse a text and understand how to
and experiences. create a similar text.

14:10

Messages
I’ve experienced a
challenging situation
too. My dad got a new
9. PREPARE TO READ job in another city, so
Kamal we had to move. The
Work in pairs. Discuss the questions.
problem was we moved
1. What kind of texts are these? Where would right in the middle of
you see them? the summer holidays
2. Do you use social media? Do you ever so, obviously, I couldn’t
write comments on social media? go to school and meet
people. I found it really
difficult at first because I
10. READ THE COMMENTS didn’t know anyone! And I
Read the online comments. What really missed my friends.
challenge did each teenager face? I was really lonely and
miserable, but I joined
the football club and
gradually I started to
11. READ AGAIN make friends. I worked
Read the sentences and complete them out that I needed to make
with Kamal or Keira. an effort. I managed to
1. experienced the same thing as settle in after that. Now
someone in the videos. I’m really proud that I
sorted it out.
2. was quite upset by their new
situation. 4 0 Reply  Share

3. enjoys playing football.

4. found a solution to their
challenge on their own.
5. is starting to adapt to their
new situation.

Exam skills Reading

Inference questions
Inference questions ask you to make a guess about
information that’s not clearly stated, but is based
on your understanding of the text. For example,
if you read about a footballer with a broken leg, it
would make sense to infer that he broke his leg
playing football, rather than perhaps in a skiing
accident. Although it’s possible that he did break
his leg skiing, this is less likely. For which question
in activity 11 did you need to infer?

My Practice 7

8 © British Council | B2.1 02 | V1.0

  I can write an online comment, talking about my experiences.
14:10
Messages
I haven’t been in exactly
the same situation, but
I have experienced a
challenge. Last year,
Kiera my big brother started
university and moved
to the other side of the
country. We used to
hang out a lot, so it was
really weird without him
at home. We did video
calls, of course, but it
wasn’t the same. I was a
bit down at first, but then
I chatted with Mum and
realised she was feeling
the same. We decided to
hang out together more
in the evenings. And at
the weekends, I try to
spend more time with my
friends. I still miss Joel,
but I’m learning to deal
with it better.
1 0 Reply  Share
© British Council | B2.1 02 | V1.0
12. WRITE A COMMENT
Write your own comment. Follow
the steps.
1. Read the two comments again. Put the
information the writers include in the
order it’s mentioned.
a. how they felt about the challenge
b. the solution they found
c. a comment that compares their
experience to the videos
d. how they feel now, or how the
situation has changed
e. what happened to them
2. Look at the comments again and answer
the questions. What kind of language
do they use: formal or informal? Why?
What language or vocabulary from this
magazine can you see in the comments?
3. Choose one the video stories in activity
3 that you found particularly interesting.
Write a comment about the video (120–150
words). You can mention if you or someone
you know has had a similar experience, or
how you would feel in that person’s place.
4. Proofread your comment. Check the
use of narrative tenses, phrasal verbs,
vocabulary for challenges, and adjectives
for emotions.
5. Swap your comment. Read your partner’s
comment. Did you choose the same
story? What do you think of your partner’s
comment?
Project 2
Identify a famous person who has
overcome a challenging situation.
If you can’t think of anyone, you
can choose from the people in the
box in Step 2 on page 11. Make a
list. What difficulties or problems
did they have? What did they do to
overcome them? You can research
online if you need to. 9
 x x x
 I can understand a text about a challenge.  I can analyse a text and find useful expressions.

PROJECT

PROJECT TOOLKIT Young writers’

competition
1. PREPARE TO READ We are now accepting entries for
s’
Look at the advert for the young writers’ the NovaLit annual young writer
15
competition. What kind of things can people write competition. Students aged 11–
foll ow ing
for the competition? can enter in either of the
or
categories: fiction (short story),
dem ic
nonfiction (personal or aca
h
essay). First-place winners in eac
2. R
 EAD THE COMPETITION ENTRY category are awarded a priz e
Read Pavel’s entry for the competition. What type of £250; second-place winners
of text has he chosen to write? What’s the topic of receive £125.
the text?
Deadline: May 31st
Word limits: 250-500 words.
3. READ AGAIN
Answer the questions.
1. What was the challenge?
2. Why did Pavel take it on? MY BIGGEST
3. How did Pavel feel during the challenge? Why?
4. What happened in the end?

My Practice 8
CHALLENG E
by Pavel

4. LOOK AT LANGUAGE When I think about one of the most difficult

Imagine you have to rewrite Pavel’s essay
using different information. Underline the
information you could change.
challenges I’ve had to overcome, there’s a
recent achievement which I’m really proud
of. I learned to box in eight weeks.
I took on the challenge to raise money for our
local youth club. The idea was that I would

5. PRACTISE compete in a boxing matching in front of 800

Look at these notes for an essay by another
student. Rewrite Pavel’s essay, replacing the
information you’ve identified in activity 3 with
the information from the student’s notes.
challenge – learning Mandarin
why – wanted to write to Chinese friend
feeling – writing was harder than expected
people at the end of eight weeks.
At first I thought it would be easy, but after a
week or two I realised I was wrong. I had to
train three times a week and change my diet.
I’d never done anything like this before, and
it was much harder than it looked. There were
times when I definitely felt like giving up. But
then I remembered why I was doing it and that
motivated me to keep going.

result – after two months wrote an email, very happy

10 © British Council | B2.1 02 | V1.0
x x
 
I can rewrite a text using new information.  
Follow the steps to complete your project.
STEP 1 STEP
Look at the texts on pages 2 and 3. What
kind of information does each text include?
What similarities are there between each
text? What differences are there?
STEP 2 write, then plan your essay. Make
Identify a famous person who has overcome
a challenging situation. If you can’t think of
anyone, you can choose from the people in
the box. Make a list. What difficulties or
problems did they have? What did they do to
overcome them? You can research online if
you need to.
Tom Cruise Venus Williams Mo Farah
JK Rowling Justin Bieber
Even if I failed, I wanted to know that I’d tried my
best. So I just trained as hard as I could, and tried
to overcome the doubts.
Finally, the night of the boxing
match arrived. My parents and
my brother were watching,
along with 800 people. I was so
nervous before the match, but
as soon as I got into the ring,
I was excited. I felt confident.
I had worked hard and I wanted
to show everyone what I
could do. I boxed well and
won both my matches.
And the best part was I
raised £500 for charity.
I was really very proud
of myself!
© British Council | B2.1 02 | V1.0
x
I can write an essay about a challenges.
3
You’re going to write an entry for the
competition on page 10. You can write
a personal essay about a challenge
you overcame, or an essay about the
famous person you identified in Step
2. Choose the essay type you want to
notes about the kind the information
that you need to include in your essay.
Also, plan the structure of your essay.
Use the texts on pages 2 and 3 and
Pavel’s competition entry to help you.
STEP 4
Write your essay. Remember to
include phrasal verbs, emotions
adjectives, and vocabulary to
describe challenges. Be careful to use
narrative tenses correctly. When
you’ve finished writing, proofread
your work.
STEP 5
Display your essay. Then read the
other students’ essays. Make notes
about what you like about each essay.
STEP 6
Finally, give feedback to the rest of
the class. Say which is your favourite
essay and why.
11
 MY LEARNING

1. REVIEW o b s t a c l e n m

Look at the definitions for vocabulary j a I f l h o x g p

from pages 2 to 5 and find the words m v g a n a w v e n
in the word search.
e b t i c l v b t i
1. a phrasal verb that means stop trying to
e e p l v l k n o g
do something
m a n a g e t o v u
2. a phrasal verb that means deal with
3. a new and difficult task b I r q u n u s e e
4. the opposite of succeed k n b o d g c p r c
5. something that gets in your way e i c o p e w I t h

Follow the instructions to create your own word search. Then, swap your word
search with a partner.
1. Create a table with ten rows and ten columns. Go back to pages 6 to 9 and find six new
words you’ve learned. Write the words in the table. They can go up, down or across.
2. Write different letters in the empty boxes until the whole table is filled. As you create the
word search, make sure you know where the words are! Then write definitions for the words.

2. REFLECT
Use the scale to rate how good you are at these skills. Then compare with a partner.
Are you better at these skills now than you were at the start of the magazine?
How can you improve and practise these skills in the future?
5 4 3 2 1
(stocklight/Shutterstock.com), Bethany Hamilton (Brian A. Witkin/Shutterstock.com)
Photo credits: p.2 Lionel Messi (Natursports/Shutterstock.com), Richard Branson

I can understand people describing personal challenges.

I can use narrative tenses to speak about past challenges.
I can use adjectives to describe emotions.
I can write about challenges different people have faced, including me.

3. NEXT STEPS
Choose ONE task to do next.

Option 1 Option 2

WATCH WRITE
Read this blog about achieving a life goal. What Listen to the interview with someone who has
did Abbiblogger have to do to achieve her goal? written a book about high-achieving teenagers.
Then write a summary of the interview.

12 © British Council | B2.1 02 | V1.0